If elections no longer work, what’s next?

Friday

Aug 23, 2013 at 12:01 AMAug 23, 2013 at 7:56 PM

“The best and the brightest of minds” — heard that before?

Rick P. Zuckerman

To the editor:

“The best and the brightest of minds” — heard that before?

It’s a paradox within itself. The above quote pertains to those who are vying to be elected by us, the people — specifically we who are not only eligible to vote but also registered to vote and, in fact, do vote. The rest is nothing but leftovers.

As a caveat on “voting,” that does not include those who are deceased or those who vote more than once for the same candidate in the same election in the same precinct. See the city of Chicago for this one. To deny that this does not occur, one must lie — for one must protect oneself after breaking the law hundreds if not thousands of times and this pertains to Election Day itself.

“One person, one vote” in those circumstances starts to sound a bit pathetic.

Now, to return to the “best and the brightest minds” in our nation — the quoted portion being what is left over after the real best and brightest of minds are hard at work in the private community.

Disagree? No problem, we must agree to disagree, but please do so without name-calling or other negative notations, which only make the one who disagrees look pathetic. More of a civil debate, if you will, is precisely what all Americans need, especially from citizens directed to their elected or even appointed officials at all levels of government. Will that occur? If so, when? If it were to happen would it actually make any difference? If recent history is any indicator of the future, the answer is all too well known to most of us.

Now what? If elections or selections — by the “Selectoral College” as far as presidential elections are concerned — are not solving problems, but exacerbating them, what course of action is left for the citizens of our great nation?

There is one definitive course, but it involves what most of us dare not think about. For better or worse, history does repeat itself. The year was 1776, and that is all that needs to be mentioned. Each reader can discern on his or her own. At the rate at which the U.S. government is going and the direction in which it has been headed, well, don’t blink.

“We the People” — sounds quaint or cute, doesn’t it? In all reality, it is a three–word phrase that means absolutely nothing as far as it pertains to those in power over us. Ironically, these same rulers were sent to political office to represent us.

Please, we have taken the bait for too long now. Thus, the year 1776 takes on more significance as each day dawns.